So you finally did it: You quit your job, sold your home and bought a one way ticket somewhere south of the U.S/Mexico border; fast forward a couple months and you're living the so-called dream life somwhere near the Equator but it's not exactly the glamerous existence you'd been anticipating.

If your idea of retirement is living a simple life in a small house far outside any major city, then yes, you can probably live on $1,000 a month. Of course, if you want to live in a nice apartment in a nice part of town in a large city, your cost of life goes up. But the truth is, it's really quite hard to answer this question because some countries are more expensive than others and some cities are pricier than others.

People often ask me what motivated me to leave the U.S. for Colombia. Most of the time, the askers are Colombians themselves, many of whom would do pretty much anything to get a visa to the U.S. or Canada and can't understand why someone would willingly choose to move to the "disaster" (their words not mine) that is Latin America.

Because you can't leave Sparky behind!

Because eventually even the beach gets boring

Round 3: Find out who you'd rather have as a neighbor

Up to the minute info on the H1N1 virus

Round 2: Like it hot? Monkeys in the trees? Or temperate mountain getaways? We look at the two countries' climates and determine a winner.

A few suggestions to better integrate into CR society

Two cases of the H1N1 virus have been discovered; one in San Jose, one in Heredia